ChefCrash

Sounds pretty good. I'd add two cups of diced onions, and divide the spices, add them in 2 intervals, one about 10 minutes before the end.

What a coincidink, I was at Schulers yesterday and saw this book: INTER COURSES - AN APHRODISIAC COOKBOOK - By Martha Hopkins ETA; Link to book description

I just tried this. Using the flour/water mix then dipping it into plain flour makes the crunchiest fried chicken I've ever had. It's also the best make-ahead fried chicken because it keeps the crunch even after it's been in the fridge for a day. Thanks for showing us this. It's great. ← Glad it worked for you. Did you season the chicken, the wet slurry or the flour?

I bought a Nakiri because my 8" knife left my vegetables connected at one end. I wanted a straighter edge. I find that, at 6.5", it's too short. It now leaves my longer vegetables connected at the other end,

Use a slurry of seasoned flour and water before dredging in plain or seasoned flour like this: If you want tangy, try using vinegar instead of water?

For me, making hash browns has been hit or miss for a long time. I'm obsessed with making them like the frozen ones that came in the 20lb box at the restaurant. I buy the same kind of russet potatoes. I peel and shred them. I place them in water until I'm ready to cook (5-20 minutes). I squeeze most of the liquid out and spread them on medium hot oil in a large pan and cross my fingers. Some times they cook perfectly. Most times, they turn translucent and gelatinous, sticky and plain nasty. Yesterday I read Potato Primer By Jackal 10 I placed 3 medium potatoes in cold water, brought them to a boil, took them off the stove and let the whole pot cool to room temperature. I put the potatoes in the fridge over night. As I was shredding them today, they felt firm, almost uncooked. However they looked and felt like the frozen hash browns (after thawing) I used to cook at the restaurant. I'm sure they were cooked because they were not oxidizing as they sat on the counter for more than 15 minutes. I'll be cooking these tomorrow.

Why didn't I think of that? Thanks JAZ.

A knife technique worth mentioning is one that allows you to cut thin slices of fruits and vegetables with out having the slices stick and accumulate on the blade or fall all over. This works with any knife. Hold the knife at ~ 45*, press the blade tip on the board and pull back without pivoting the knife. The cut slices will stay put. Works great on small things like strawberries to large ones like apple and tomato halves.

Magictofu got it right. If you don't want the roast to braise, you'd have to cook it uncovered. I don't think you can do that in crockpot. Roast it uncovered in a low oven (225 to 250*F).

Nice photo Chris and a beautiful knife. It looks like a Blue/Sperm whale attacking the onion. How does your Ken Onion knife do with the same challenge? My wife ordered me the Shun classic Nakiri from Williams-Sonoma 8 days before Christmas. She was charged $124.95 for the knife, $5.00 for gift wrapping, $16.50 shipping and $8.79 sales tax (although it was being shipped across state lines), $155 total, guaranteed shipment before Christmas. Christmas came and went. So did new years day. My wife went back to the store. They called customer service and agreed to refund our money. They paid her back only $150. Said gift wrapping charges were nonrefundable. It took another phone call to the store to get the rest of our money back. I reordered the knife from Chef's Resource for $124.95 shipped free and no sales tax. It will be arriving this Monday.

8.25 lb choice before aging. After on week. I will cook this @ 200* convection and turn the heat down after 3.5 hours to 130*. Should be done in about five hours. No searing required. You can see last year's here, post #52

On medium heat, Saute a large, coarsely chopped portabella mushroom til tender, S&P. Deglaze with two cups of water and 1/2 cup red wine and leave to simmer on low heat. Season the rib bones with the same seasonings as your roast (Thyme, Rosemary) S&P. In a stainless pan on medium high heat, brown the bones on all sides in a little oil. When you have enough fond, deglaze the pan with the mushroom mixture. Simmer and correct the seasoning. Add more water if needed. You can discard the mushrooms. I leave them in.

If you can make Pate, why not stuffing? Here's a recipe for White Castle Pate.

Hi cdh, the brine should not turn brown, an indication of the presence of spoilage bacteria. I would change the brine right away. The brine needs acidification in the form of lemon slices or Citric acid. Photos please.

Pumpkin preserve is made the same way. Found this at Kroger.

I woke one day last month to a familiar aroma. In the kitchen, my wife stood elbow deep in tomato stuff. Tomato blood was everywhere. She had been processing whole tomatoes as well as tomato sauce. On the stove was a pot of more tomato product boiling. She was now making tomato paste. I almost said,"You know they're two cans for a dollar at Meijer's", but she was standing there all made up wearing a cute apron, looking at me with the, "I'm doing this because I love you", look. She wasn’t sure how many tomatoes she started with (for the paste). It was enough to end up with 5 quarts of juice. She quartered them and squeezed them, then mashed them against the bottom of the strainer, by hand. The juice was boiled vigorously and heat was reduced as it reached the tomato sauce stage. After 5 hours (total) and a lot of stirring. The heat had been reduced to a minimum. This is how much liquid remained. At this point, salt and citric acid were added to taste. In the old days, the paste would have been laid out in the sun to dry. These pans would sit in the sun all day and taken inside at night, for a week or two. Here in Michigan we were experiencing the effects of hurricane Gustav which was being followed by siblings, we had to improvise. We used the oven in dehydrate mode @130F for 5 hours. Before dehydrating and after. In the jar is one pound of finished paste. When we were kids, this was done out doors in huge tinned cauldrons over open fire. For staying out of the way, we were rewarded with tomato paste sandwiches. We were spoiled. So, 2 cans of paste at the store for a dollar? Sure. The smells and visions of childhood?...

The brined olives undergo a fermentation and should be kept at room temperature. However, as the olives ferment the salt concentration decreases which can lead to spoilage(softening). If you intend to store the olives beyond a 3 or 4 month period, refrigeration will help. Thanks Jeff We bought a 10 lb box for $25 at a Middle Eastern store in Dearborn MI. We followed the same recipe mentioned on page one of this thread. We don't change the brine.

It's that time of year again. We just jarred 10 pounds of medium sized olives. These will be ready to eat in a month. But, if you absolutely, positively must have Olives tomorrow , this is what you do: We had no room for these olives in the jars(about half pound). They were already smashed. We added about a T of salt and a dash of olive oil to them. After stirring, this is what they look like. Tomorrow they'll look like this. I know they're not pretty, but they are delicious.

Totally sweet. The texture of candied fruit. Same method is used with pumpkin. This is the first time we make them. The skin is removed so the syrup can penetrate the eggplants.

No processing, or cooking. They're picked and packed dry in clean P.E.T. bottles and sealed. Stored at room temperature. I don't know how it works. Perhaps someone can chime in.

Preserving Grape Leaves Prepare a 12% brine (118 grams salt/ liter of water). Bring to a boil. Roll stacks of 10 to 15 freshly picked grape leave into a cigar shape and tightly stuff into a jar. Add hot brine and seal. In a few weeks they'd look like the jar on the left. On the right, is a P.E.T. bottle filled with grape leaves, rolled the same way, inserted through the bottle opening and stuffed into the bottle using the back end of a wooden spoon, then sealed with the bottle cap. They both look the same (in color anyway). What's the difference!? NO BRINE. The bottle on the right is Two years old. It has been kept at room temperature since it was shipped to us from Lebanon. Instructions: Once cut open, must be refrigerated.

Eggplant Preserves. 1 Lb baby Eggplants peeled. Soak in a mixture of enough water to cover and 1/2 cup of pickling lime, over night (weigh down with a plate). Drain, rinse and squeeze moisture from each Eggplant. Let dry. In a pot, dissolve one Lb of sugar in 2 1/2 cups water, add four Cloves and bring to a simmer. Prick Eggplants with a fork and add to syrup. Simmer for about an hour or until Eggplants are slightly translucent and tender. Let cool and preserve in a jar.

Late night snack.

Checkout this site Recipes On Rails. Done by one of ours here, can't remember his name.

Diamond Crystal is Thomas Keller's choice of kosher salt.